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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25934098">Under Your Skin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelcakkes/pseuds/angelcakkes'>angelcakkes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Alternate Universe - Horror, Enemies to Lovers, Exorcisms, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, M/M, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Private Investigators, Slow Burn, Some Humor, Spirits, Strangers to Lovers, markhyuck are rich suburban husbands, mentions of anxiety/panic/fear, side markhyuck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:27:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,321</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25934098</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelcakkes/pseuds/angelcakkes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hi! The name is Huang Renjun. You called for a demonologist?”</p><p>or:</p><p>Donghyuck is convinced their house is haunted. Mark is not so sure.<br/>Enter Renjun, the renowned ghost-hunter, and Jeno, the private investigator and unofficial skeptic.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>96</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyone! Welcome to the noren ghost-hunting au!<br/>I'm so excited to finally introduce this fic bc this is something I've been planning for a while now. I was heavily prompted by pictures of detective!renjun and cop!jeno from the puff lives that popped up on my timeline and now, we have this! I was also inspired by The Watcher episode from Buzzfeed Unsolved (you'll see). Pls note that most of the stuff about demon hunting, spirit cleansing, and the like is half made-up, half researched from the anime Ghost Hunt, ghost-hunting documentaries(??), and the Insidious movies, lol.</p><p>ANYWHO I'm gonna try and update this as often as possible. I have uni right now but I'll try my best to manage bc I just couldn't wait to share this. I hope you all enjoy! </p><p>EDIT// I wanted to add a DISCLAIMER that this is a work of fiction. The characters, their actions and thoughts, are also a work of fiction. In no way should this be taken as a portrayal of reality and should be treated purely as the FANFIC that it is. I do not own nor claim to own anything within this fic except for the story.</p><p>Special thanks to my lovely beta, Aara &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To the north of the metropolis, away from the thick crowds and dense buildings, lies a village nestled in the hills overlooking the city.</p><p>Seongbuk-dong is a small, but wealthy neighbourhood located in the Seongbuk-gu district – a place where old Seoul meets new, filled with culture and nature, surrounded by the old ramparts of Seoul. It stands apart from the gentle hills and village landscape, with high-rise manors and lavish estates fit for the best of the best; its upscale stature a reflection of the city that crawls below it.</p><p>Within the neighbourhood, amid all the other sleek, contemporary homes, lies a relic of the past. A gem, hidden away at the heart of the residential village.</p><p>74 Seongbuk-dong is a proud, double-storey estate with red, stucco roofing, beige exterior, and a grand double-door entrance fitted between two tall arched windows. It has a copper portico with mosaic square-columns that extends out from above to create a wide, luxurious entrance, with steps leading down to the sleek driveway that curves out towards the front gate.</p><p>The lawn on either side of the manor is always neatly trimmed, with flowers and rounded shrubs growing linearly along the sides. A single Magnolia tree stands in a rock bed on the right; leaves turning golden-yellow in the face of oncoming fall.  </p><p>The picturesque home looms beyond a stone fence matching the portico. The letterbox is embedded into the wall with the house number embossed right beside it – big and bold. A brass lantern sits on top.</p><p>It is located at the heart of the residential village, tranquil, where the hubbub of the town cannot disturb it, but <em>just</em> close enough to making the commute to work and school possible.</p><p>Hence, it is the picture-perfect new home for newlyweds, Lee Minhyung (Mark) and Lee Donghyuck – as well as their toy poodles, Toto and Bingsu.</p><p>The young couple were childhood friends that grew into high school sweethearts, eventually getting married two years after they graduated from college. Following his studies in accounting and business management, Mark slowly worked his way up the ranks to become the new CFO of Sun Corporation – a well-known cosmetic company with branches all over Asia. On the other hand. Donghyuck is a high-ranking solicitor at a renowned law firm in the city.</p><p>So, when Mark’s business opened up a new branch towards the north of the metropolis, and they needed him to oversee the new building, it was inevitable they packed up their life in the city and moved closer to where Mark needed to be. As a lawyer, much of Donghyuck’s work-life was a mixture of working from home and only going to the firm when needed. Since Seongbuk-gu wasn’t that far from the city anyway, the occasional commute didn’t sound <em>too</em> terrible.</p><p>For Mark especially, who has always longed for a more laidback life away from the city, Seongbuk-dong was ideal. Yes, the move was due to his work. But at the very least he could come home to his beautiful husband, in a beautiful home, in a comfortable environment that allowed them to wind down. Maybe even to start a family.</p><p>But the change hits a little harder for someone like Donghyuck who is the complete opposite – always buzzing with energy and longing for company, and who couldn’t ever seem to get enough of commotion and the blinding city lights.</p><p>Settling down in Seongbuk-dong was a compromise they both had to make – with Donghyuck a little begrudged – after days upon days of research and consideration. It wasn’t the closest to Mark’s office, but it was close <em>enough </em>for easy travel while ensuring that Donghyuck could still look out from the mountain and see the towering metropolitan buildings he loved so much.</p><p>And although leaving behind their friends and family to move to the midst of retirees and old people was hard, they accepted the change with the consolation that at least, no matter what, they had each other.</p><p>Besides, the house is beautiful, spacious, and in Donghyuck’s words, “sexy with vintage allure”, as well as being practically a steal on the market. And with more than enough space to host lavish parties, or for their friends and family to stay over, the house truly is their dream home.</p><p>It has been approximately two weeks since the big move. Settling into the house has been smooth sailing so far, and they’ve already got most of the essential appliances up and running. The master bedroom, kitchen, and main bathroom are already fully furnished – save for the décor, which Donghyuck promised to start on once he has the time to shop.</p><p>Their neighbours dropped by as well - a lovely Canadian couple who were professors at the local university. They brought along warm food and welcomed them to the neighbourhood, expressed how lovely it was to see new faces, for the opportunity for more friends.</p><p>“I may have had my doubts at first,” Donghyuck had said later that evening as they were cleaning up the foyer, folding all the empty boxes to put away into the garage, “but I think I might grow to like it here.”</p><p>In the short time since the move, the house has quickly started to look more and more like the ideal home in Donghyuck’s vision. With Mark usually busy travelling to and fro from the city, working late hours, and simply not being much of a homemaker, Donghyuck’s taken the liberty to furnish the rest of the house his way.</p><p>So far, they’ve got two of the spare bedrooms upstairs set up to become guest rooms for visitors, and the final, smallest room downstairs was turned into a craft room for Donghyuck. The study has quickly become Donghyuck’s home office seeing as he works from home the most, and the family lounge is finally fit for cosy Saturday date nights lounging in front of the TV.</p><p>With the house as big as it is, and so much bigger than their old apartment in the city, a lot of additional furniture had to be purchased for the house to look and feel like a home. They’ve even had to replace their favourite, timeless, sofa for a bigger, chaise lounge that complemented the size of the new room better. One that made the room look less sparse and cold, and warmer and inviting.</p><p>Truthfully, the house is still taking Donghyuck some getting used to. Everything from its sheer size and extravagance to where it sits at the heart of the mountain neighbourhood overwhelms him. Although he knows it’s mainly the change of scenery that’s bothering him – how quiet the streets are, how chilly the air is – he can’t help but feel a little lonely. Something about the atmosphere in this house makes him feel hollow and cold, makes him antsy about his own shadow. Makes him miss Mark until he’s messaging him every hour asking when he’ll come him.</p><p>It doesn’t help that the house gives him this strange feeling like he’s being watched. Like there’s always someone looking over his shoulder or watching him from the corner of the room. He supposes that’s all because of the loneliness too. It’s got to be.</p><p>Mark agrees that it’s just the sudden change that’s making Donghyuck feel like this, and reminds him that once they’ve settled down completely and familiarise themselves with the townspeople, he’ll become more comfortable.</p><p>He also reminds Donghyuck that this is what they both wanted. A lovely home fit for a large family; a peaceful neighbourhood. To be surrounded by rich history, culture, and fresh air.</p><p>So Donghyuck tries to distract himself by spending most of his time working, or busying himself with the house during his free time. And whenever the house starts to feel overwhelming – whether it be from its never-ending hallways or oddly placed tiny storerooms – he leaves. Leashes up the dogs and takes them out on an impromptu walk around the neighbourhood or to go shopping.</p><p>Another week passes like so.</p><p>It’s an idle Wednesday afternoon, and Donghyuck is lounging in the sun nook at the back of the house listening to the radio and flicking through an IKEA catalogue. The waning sunlight peeks through the flamed-foliage outside the window and casts the room into a brilliant amber.</p><p>The radio station plays a slow, smooth jazz tune which Donghyuck hums along too, reclining against the soft cushions of the window seat. He hums lowly with contentment, dog-earing a page of brass standing lamps that’ll look perfect in his craft room.</p><p>A short while later, as the sun skims the edge of the horizon, the front door clicks open, and the familiar sound of Mark clearing his throat whisks Donghyuck to his feet.</p><p>“Hey,” Mark greets him as he shrugs off his jacket, “sorry I’m late. Traffic was a bitch today.”</p><p>Donghyuck hums, kissing his husband on the cheek as he takes the stack of letters from Mark’s fingers, “Figured as much.”</p><p>He flips through the envelopes, most of which are notices from their billing companies thanking them for their continued business. There are also a couple of random delivery service coupons and one misaddressed bill that Donghyuck will have Mark return to the post office tomorrow before he goes off to work.</p><p>“What’s that?” Mark asks, looking over his shoulder. He gestures to the last envelope in the stack, an oddly plain-looking thing with thin lettering and no return address. It is simply directed: <em>To the New Owners of 74 Seongbuk-dong.</em></p><p>Donghyuck traces a finger over the scrawny, tall font. The ink slightly smudges across the white page, smearing Donghyuck’s thumb with charcoal ink.</p><p>He rubs the pads of his fingers together and frowns. “Kinda creepy, don’t you think?”</p><p>Mark furrows his brows, humming, and nudges for Donghyuck to open it.</p><p>The parchment inside is a strange off-white, bordering yellow, and so delicate Donghyuck has to open it slowly in case it crumbles in his hands.</p><p>The content of the letter is written in the same scrawny handwriting as the envelope. It reads:</p><p>
  <em>To the new owners of 74 Seongbuk-dong.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Welcome to Seongbuk-gu. I hope your journey to the town and settling into the home has been pleasant. I see that you have made quick progress in settling in, and therefore assume the process has been hassle-free. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I wonder what brought you to this town, to this neighbourhood tucked away in the mountains. Was it the lush scenery? Or the rich history? You do not have any children. Are you looking to start one here? Or, I wonder, if it was 74 Seongbuk-dong itself, calling you from within – enticing you with its beauty and allure?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if it is so. After all, she is the pride of this town, most beautiful of them all.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Whatever your reasoning, we are glad to have you here now. I hope we can keep in touch.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Regards,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Your Friendly Neighbour. </em>
</p><p>Donghyuck does another quick read of the letter, then another. His frown deepening each time.</p><p>“Well, they sound a little <em>too </em>friendly,” Mark speaks in his stead.</p><p>“More like freaky. Who talks like this? Who even are they?” Donghyuck flips the letter over to search the back for more information. “There’s nothing about who even sent this or from where.”</p><p> “Maybe they’re just a shy neighbour who genuinely wanted to welcome us. A shy and slightly weird neighbour.” Mark shrugs the matter off and heads into the kitchen first, Toto and Bingsu hot on his trail.</p><p>Donghyuck, however, is less convinced. He frowns at the letter again, a slight unease making his spine tingle. He shouts towards the kitchen, “What kind of <em>shy</em> person writes a letter like this?”</p><p>“You’re just overthinking it, babe.” Mark emerges to give him another dismissive shrug, “there are a lot of… different types of people?”</p><p>Donghyuck rolls his eyes and grumbles under his breath but decides to let the matter go. Without sparing another glance, he balls the letter up in his hand and tosses it away with the rest of the junk mail.</p><p>-</p><p>Thanks to technology, most days of the week see to Donghyuck working from home until the case requires his presence or to meet one of his clients – that is if it ever does. Being a lawyer isn’t as glamourous or exciting as TV shows suggest, but is rather more sedentary. Less crime fighting and dramatic court hearings, more paper-work and dealing with irritating clients.</p><p>Currently, he is at his desk working on a typical civil dispute between two private real estate companies. Client A agreed to purchase the land from Client B at so-and-so date, they couldn’t make the payment, and now Client B is charging failure to meet contract terms. Meanwhile, Client A is counter-claiming that Client B was not able to vacate the property in time, and therefore –</p><p>Donghyuck stops reading the paper further. His eyes suddenly blur as a dull ache settles on his brow. He pinches the bridge of his nose to ease the pain and casts his eyes across the room to alleviate the strain.</p><p>Toto is curled up on the doggy day-bed at the corner of the room, adjacent to the bookshelves and the couch. It’s an overcast day, so despite the large windows, the lamps are turned on for what little light and warmth they can get. The ducted heating whirs lightly throughout the room. The autumn breeze whistles outside.</p><p>There are still a few boxes lying here and there, mostly filled with Donghyuck’s books and records that he has yet to pack away. His desk is also stacked with old case files he forgot to return to the archive before the move, which he will have to do the next time he travels to the office. But even with the slight clutter, Donghyuck finds he prefers it this way. As the days go by and the house becomes more organized, this chaos in his workspace reminds him of their apartment back in the city. Of the tiny study room, he shared with Mark that was a horrible yet endearing amalgamation of their different work styles.</p><p>It’s either in the office or the sun nook where Donghyuck spends most of his days until Mark returns, so he might as well leave it a little messy. Just the way he likes it.</p><p>He’s reclining back in his chair with his feet propped up on the desk, angled just right for the heating to hit him directly when he hears a door creak before clicking shut from somewhere in the house.</p><p>Donghyuck’s instinct tells him it’s because of the heating – rising air pressure that made a door close, or something. The house is old, so it creaks; the heating is fan-forced, so it’s pressurised in smaller spaces – he thinks to himself.</p><p>But agitation quickly overpowers rationality, and Donghyuck soon finds himself standing up to go investigate – Toto scampering after him.</p><p>Standing in the middle of the hallway, Donghyuck looks to find all the doors leading to the rooms open, as they always are. The tawny-brown walls stretch down to the front entrance; the dull light from the glass panes paint the hall a cold, gloomy, grey. Everything stands tall, still, and silent in its place.</p><p><em>As they should be</em>, Donghyuck thinks to himself with a roll of his eyes.</p><p>The sound of his feet padding across the wooden floor echoes throughout the empty house as he continues down to the front of the house to check the rest of the doors. Curiously enough, he finds the only other closeable doors to the storeroom and pantry closed, as he had left them.</p><p>“Huh,” Donghyuck says aloud as he squints at the pantry door, folding his arms over his chest. He looks down at Toto by his feet. “Tell me, Toto, am I going crazy?”</p><p>The black poodle merely cocks his head in response, seemingly as confused as Donghyuck is.</p><p>Donghyuck makes another annoyed hum as he chews his lips.</p><p>“Oh, of course!” Donghyuck nearly smacks himself for not thinking of it sooner. “Bingsu!”</p><p>The brown poodle is a curious one who often goes exploring by himself. It makes sense to consider he might’ve accidentally closed a door somewhere.</p><p>It’s just a matter of finding where he is.</p><p>“Bingsuuu!” Donghyuck shouts as he makes his way back to the foyer. Toto barking along with him. “Bingsu, where are you, boy? Come here!”</p><p>He hears the faintest of whimpers coming from the other end of the house. He stills, hushes Toto beside him, and keens his ear to listen again.</p><p>As the house falls silent, there’s a slight ringing in his ears. A thin sound that drives needles down his spine, steadily becoming louder and sharper as the milliseconds' tick by –</p><p>Then he hears it again. Bingsu whimpering from somewhere at the end of the hall.</p><p>Panic strikes and the moment shatters like glass. “Bingsu!” Donghyuck shouts as he runs towards the sound.</p><p>“Bingsu?” He calls again. The whimper is clearer and louder now and guides Donghyuck to the broom closet beside the sunroom. He immediately reaches for the knob when a chilling draught passes behind him.</p><p>Donghyuck whips his head around instantly, the chill raking up his spine, but there’s nothing behind him. He exhales and tries the doorknob again, twisting and jiggling the stubborn knob as much as his clammy hands will let him until the latch clicks free and the door swings open.</p><p>“Bingsu!” Donghyuck exclaims as the poodle rushes out, barking uncontrollably. His tiny body shivering. Picking the frightened dog up in his arms, Donghyuck hugs him to his chest and kisses him on the head.</p><p>“Hey, hey, it’s ok. I’ve got you now. Got yourself trapped there, did we?” Donghyuck nuzzles his nose against the soft fur. “No more exploring by yourself, okay?”</p><p>Bingsu doesn’t stop shaking until Donghyuck carries him to the kitchen and gives him a treat. Still hugging Bingsu close, Donghyuck strokes his back as Bingsu gnaws away at his biscuit.</p><p>Outside, the weather has started to clear up. Sunlight peeks through the clouds and hits the window panes, pouring into the room in a warm, golden flood. Donghyuck sinks to the floor and rests his back against the cupboards, setting Bingsu down in his lap and letting the two dogs have a few more treats.</p><p>Only now, as a dull ache settles in the centre of his chest, does Donghyuck realise just how fast his heart was beating all along. How easily, irrationally, frightened he became at the thought of something happening to Bingsu.</p><p>How loud such a silent and still house can be.</p><p>The wall clock ticks away from across the room. Donghyuck stares as the seconds drag by. Then the minute hand moves, and it’s eight minutes to four. Another two hours, at best, before Mark gets home.</p><p>Donghyuck doesn’t think he can stand the stillness any longer.</p><p>“Come on guys.” Donghyuck whistles lightly as the poodles stand to attention, “let’s go on a walk.”</p><p> </p><p>Despite what Donghyuck’s feelings towards the house may suggest, he has grown rather fond of Seongbuk-gu itself. The town is charming and rich in the ways the city isn’t, with a close-knit, friendly neighbourhood that Donghyuck has already acquainted himself within the few trips he’s made around the town. Sometimes with Mark, mostly by himself.</p><p>It’s been a worry of his that the long-term locals may not be so welcoming to a couple like Mark and Donghyuck, but thankfully most of his interactions couldn’t have gone more pleasant.</p><p>The town isn’t as fast-paced or intense as he’s used to, but he finds that to be its charm. Looking at the people here – mainly retirees, families, or senior-citizens – Donghyuck remembers to slow down. Especially now while he’s still relatively young.</p><p>Being outside amongst the locals also allows Donghyuck to forget about the harrowing emptiness back at home. It allows him to assess his feelings – consider why he’s so apprehensive about the house despite it being exactly what he needs <em>to</em> slow down. It takes time to build a home, so Donghyuck can’t expect it to feel cosy already, right?</p><p>Besides, it’s likely his subconscious is missing their old home, which is what’s making it hard for him to adjust. It’s only when he gets a look from the outside in when he remembers this is the house he and Mark chose together, the neighbourhood they fell in love with together.</p><p>He continues wandering the locality while giving himself a mental scolding until he eventually arrives at the town centre. It’s an old folk village a little farther away from the more modernised neighbourhood, with traditional <em>Hanoks</em> that have been transformed into stalls, tea houses and restaurants. It’s where the urban side of Seongbuk-gu quickly becomes a small town, instantly taking Donghyuck back to years ago when he’d grown up in such villages.</p><p>The sight makes Bingsu and Toto excited too as they jump around and bark excitedly.</p><p>“Donghyuck, isn’t it?” An old man calls from a nearby fruit stall. Donghyuck recognises him from one of their first trips around the town. “Can I get you anything?” He asks, patting a crate of bright oranges in front of him.</p><p>Donghyuck bows politely and shakes his head. “Maybe on the way back?”</p><p>The old man sends him on his way with a wave, and Donghyuck continues down the street with Toto and Bingsu scurrying ahead.</p><p>The street is a little busy at this hour with many people on their way home from work stopping by for groceries and snacks. The air is breezy and light, and Donghyuck walks with a spring in his step as he politely greets more townsfolk who recognise him from his previous trips.</p><p>They turn at a junction in the road leading down a narrow path Donghyuck’s never seen before. Shaded by overgrown trees, it’s lined with smaller, ramshackle stores and houses that contrast with the vivacity of the main street.</p><p>Intrigued, Donghyuck peeks through the window of the first house on the corner. It’s a tea house – a very quiet and gloomy one – that almost went unnoticed if it wasn’t for the wooden sign on the door <em>clack-clacking</em> in the wind.</p><p>As Donghyuck squints through the dusty window, he makes out a few stools and tables strewn around, a plain countertop, and a door behind the counter leading to the back – to the kitchen, presumably.</p><p>He jerks back from the window when a woman emerges from the back. She spots him immediately and stares curiously. Feeling awkward, Donghyuck smiles and tries a wave, to which the woman beckons him inside.</p><p>The doorbell rings as Donghyuck steps inside, bowing. “Good afternoon, auntie!”</p><p>Upon clearer inspection, Donghyuck sees the woman is much older and smaller than he’d thought. She slowly walks out from behind the counter to greet him, reaching out with small, frail hands.</p><p>Donghyuck crosses the distance to take her by the palms, squeezing her soft hands. Her dark hair sits in a loose bun behind her head, dull with age, and loose, thin strands framing her face. Her features crease into a kind smile, shiny eyes disappearing behind crescents.</p><p>“Welcome, welcome dear,” she says, her voice warm and mellow. “Have a seat.”</p><p>Donghyuck turns back to Bingsu and Toto behind him, moving to take them back outside when the lady stops him.</p><p>“They’re welcome too.” She simply says, before taking off behind the counter again. As the woman fumbles around the back, Donghyuck scans the room.</p><p>The tea house is unlike any of the others on the main street. The minimal light coming in through the window is cold and grey, making the room appear dimmer and more cramped than it is. It’s also slightly run-down. With the wallpaper peeling off at the corners and mysterious dark stains on the walls. Tall bookcases tower ominously at each end of the room, the shelves lined with antique toys and trinkets – novelty snow globes, a chessboard, tea sets, and dusty, clothbound books. Donghyuck has to squint to make them out.</p><p>He sits at a round wooden table fit for one person (and a half – maybe). It wobbles when Donghyuck leans against it, so he doesn’t. He sets his hands on his lap and gazes out the window, watching the scattered leaves dance in the wind.</p><p>The woman returns shortly after, shuffling across the room with a tray of steaming tea and biscuits. She sets it down before him, smiling when Donghyuck thanks her, tells her there was no need.</p><p>“You’re the first person here in a while,” she says, gingerly patting him on the head, “I couldn’t be happier.”</p><p>Though it’s not hard to imagine why, the words, and the way the woman sad it so meekly, tug at Donghyuck’s heartstrings. He quickly takes a sip to show her his appreciation. The tea is warm, fragrant with chamomile and hints of ginger and cardamom</p><p>“I can’t understand why. This tea is absolutely divine, auntie.”</p><p>The woman tuts in feigned annoyance. “That’s grandma, to you.”</p><p>Donghyuck mimics her, tutting as well, “No way. You don’t look a day over forty!”</p><p>“Ayee,” She laughs, “you’re a charmer, aren’t ya?”</p><p>Donghyuck pulls another stool up to the table and invites the woman to sit down.</p><p>“I haven’t seen you around here before,” she asks, “are you new to the area?”</p><p>“We only moved here recently,” Donghyuck says, setting the teacup down slowly. He pauses before adding, “My partner and I bought the house on the hill, 74 Seongbuk-dong.”</p><p>For the briefest moment, the woman’s eyes widen. “Really? And how are you two liking the house?”</p><p>This probes Donghyuck’s curiosity. Her interest in the house and not about his not-so-discreet <em>partner</em> shocks him. Leaves him slightly unnerved.</p><p>“It’s… fine. It’s very big… very beautiful though.” He takes another sip of his tea, holding the warm liquid in his mouth before swallowing. “We’re still adjusting to the change. We’re here from the city, after all.”</p><p>The old woman nods with understanding, but she continues watching him with growing interest. Donghyuck grows antsy under her stare. He forms his lips into a thin line, taking smalls sips of tea.</p><p>“You seem like a nice boy.” The woman says all of a sudden, traces of concern lacing her words. To Donghyuck, the kind words sound foreboding instead.</p><p>He swallows the lump that’s risen to the back of his throat and covers with an awkward laugh. “Thank you.”</p><p>“There’s nothing strange about the house to you?”</p><p>Donghyuck holds in his breath. “…Why do you say that?</p><p>The old woman shakes her head, closing her eyes. When she opens them again and looks at him, they are warmer. Still concerned, but less gravely so.</p><p>It somehow makes Donghyuck feel worse. From behind him, he can hear Toto and Bingsu tussle about.</p><p>Her eyes move past his shoulder, towards them, “I’ve lived a very long time, seen many people come and go from that house. Heard many things.” She looks at him again, a thin smile curved on her lips. “I was just making sure.”</p><p>Donghyuck doesn’t stay much longer after that. The conversation moves on to the origin story of the lady’s tea house and ends much more positively, with a warm hug and Donghyuck promising to stop by again. With Mark.</p><p>But even on the way home, he can’t shake the restless feeling from the woman’s ominous – almost cautionary – words, and her pitiful eyes. Something about the house already makes him fearful, nervous, as if waiting for something terrifying to jump out of the dark. The woman’s words did nothing but exacerbate his fears.</p><p>And yet, he <em>logically</em> can’t pinpoint why</p><p>By the time Donghyuck arrives at the house, the sun has begun to set, and in this sepia light, the house has never looked more beautiful.</p><p>The car is in the driveway, meaning Mark came home from work much faster than Donghyuck had expected.</p><p>Donghyuck sighs, pushing his thoughts aside, and walks up to the door.</p><p>The house is quiet when he steps inside, no sign of Mark anywhere. Donghyuck unleashes Toto and Bingsu before calling out for his husband.</p><p>“Mark? We’re home!”</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Donghyuck frowns, slowly stepping down the hall and peeks through to the rooms.</p><p>“Mark?” He tries again, “where are you?”</p><p>From the corner of his eye, a shadow passes through the opening to the kitchen before vanishing into thin air. Alarm shoots up Donghyuck’s spine as he absently grabs for a showpiece on the coffee table – a glass chalet he’d won in a bar game with his colleagues. Donghyuck swings it over his shoulder, ready for action as he approaches the kitchen door.</p><p>“Mark,” he calls again, more gently this time, “is that you, babe?”</p><p>It’s a stupid question, he knows this, because Mark doesn’t play hide-n-seek. If it was really Mark, he would’ve come out by now, given Donghyuck a kiss, asked him what was wrong.</p><p>The knowledge sends a chill down Donghyuck’s spine.</p><p>“Ma – “</p><p>The words die on his tongue, his breath hitching. His heart drops as, across the room, the shadow passes again. Except it’s no longer a shadow, but a clear figure of a man, dressed in a brown plaid suit, bowtie and top hat. His skin a ghostly grey.</p><p>He stops in the middle of the kitchen directly in front of Donghyuck. From the other side of the kitchen island, he turns his head to the side, faces Donghyuck with a long smile stretching across his face.</p><p>Donghyuck’s entire body goes ice cold. He staggers back, hands trembling, the glass chalet slipping from his hand and smashing onto the floor in a million tiny shards. “Ma – Mark… MARK!”</p><p>The figure turns away, still smiling, and walks into the laundry. Then he disappears through the back door, straight through it, and disappears into thin air.</p><p>Donghyuck chokes on a gulp of air. “MARK!” He shrieks, his voice tearing out of his throat, “MARK!”</p><p>Mark thunders down the steps, shirtless and hair wet.</p><p>“<em>Shit,</em>” He curses, seeing Donghyuck limp against the kitchen doorframe, feet surrounded by shards of glass. “<em>Shitshitshit.</em>”</p><p>Donghyuck turns at the sound of Mark’s voice, his eyes saucer in his head as he points a finger across the room. “There… There was someone there – there – there was – there was <em>something</em> there!”</p><p>Mark carefully steps over the shattered glass and looks around the room.</p><p>“Babe, babe, it’s okay. There’s no one –“</p><p>“No! No, <em>Mark,</em>” Donghyuck breathes deeply, his tone grave, “there was someone there, I saw them, and they saw me. They smiled at me, Mark – <em>Mark.</em>” He holds up his hands, “I saw someone, and they left – they left through the back door, <em>through it, Mark.</em>”</p><p>Donghyuck gestures with his hands.</p><p>Mark stares at Donghyuck, concern marring his features. He reaches out to hold Donghyuck by the shoulders but the latter backs away.</p><p>“I’m not being crazy.”</p><p>He knows what he saw. He <em>felt</em> the chill, the fear. It was all so – <em>so real</em>. There’s no way Donghyuck’s brain made that up, no matter how agitated he’s been all day.</p><p>“I know,” Mark assures him, gently reaching out to connect their hands. “I know, babe. Let’s first get this glass cleaned up, okay? And then we’ll see what we can do.”</p><p>Becoming dizzy with thoughts that make absolutely no sense, Donghyuck wordlessly concedes and they carefully clean up the mess together. Donghyuck glumly discards the remainder of the glass, muttering about how pitiful it was to have it go to waste over something he can’t even rationalise himself.</p><p>Mark kisses him on the back of the head, then on the forehead, over and over. Then he makes Donghyuck rest on the living room couch before going to warm up some leftover rice and side dishes.</p><p>“I don’t… I don’t know what’s happening to me…” Donghyuck says lowly, later, when they’re sitting around the coffee table having dinner. Mark turns to him and places a hand on his lap. The TV runs idly in the background.</p><p>“You’re just tired, babe. And this house is still new. This area is still new. And I know you miss the city –“</p><p>“Yeah, but for it to affect me like this?” Donghyuck shakes his head in disbelief, “No. We decided this together – I <em>chose</em> this house.”</p><p>Mark shrugs, massaging Donghyuck’s inner thigh soothingly. The action makes Donghyuck shift closer, and Mark pushes his food away to let Donghyuck into his lap.</p><p>“Did you have work today?” Mark asks, resting his cheek on Donghyuck’s forehead when the latter leans back against his chest.</p><p>“Yeah, paperwork. I was in the office…”</p><p>Donghyuck hasn’t even told Mark about his strange day yet. Not about the sound of the door, or about Bingsu.</p><p>“I got sick of being inside, though, so we went into town.” He continues, eyes landing on Bingsu and Toto lounging on the couch. He doesn’t tell Mark about the eerie atmosphere in the house that made him leave in the first place. He doesn’t tell him about the strange lady in the tea house and what she said.</p><p>Frankly, after what he saw, he just doesn’t have the energy to. It feels ridiculous to even think about anymore, and saying it out loud would only confirm its absurdity.</p><p>He wonders if his subconscious desire could be causing him to see things – things that would cause him enough discomfort to force them to move back to their old home.</p><p>Mark breathes soundly, his hold around Donghyuck tightening.</p><p>Donghyuck’s heart clenches with guilt.</p><p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>“For?” Mark perks up, staring down at him with wide eyes.</p><p>“I think, I’m just looking for excuses to move back. I know I shouldn’t be so –“</p><p>Mark silences him with a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I know this is a big change for you, and with me working all the time and you alone… I don’t blame you for feeling this way.”</p><p>“That’s not your fault either,” Donghyuck reassures him. Shifting his body around to face Mark better, Donghyuck cups his cheek and gives him a better, deeper kiss.</p><p>For a while, they just stay like that, wrapped up in each other’s embrace as the TV plays some mundane show.</p><p>“I was going to tell you this as sooner,” Mark starts carefully, “but I didn’t want to alarm you any further.”</p><p>Donghyuck lifts his head off Mark’s chest to regard him fully. “What?”</p><p>Mark shuffles out from beneath Donghyuck and goes over to the coat rack by the door. Then he digs around in his coat pocket, retrieving a thin, eggshell envelope. Donghyuck recognises it immediately, a lump forming in his throat, all the anxiety from earlier rushing back.</p><p>“There’s still no return address, no mention of who it is.” Mark sits back down beside Donghyuck and hands him the letter. “But whoever it is, is a freak.”</p><p>Taking in the words, Donghyuck slowly opens the letter. On the same thin parchment, in the same scratchy lettering, it reads:</p><p>
  <em>To the new owners of 74 Seongbuk-dong.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I see you two have settled in nicely. The old house resembles somewhat more of a home now than the last time I saw it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I love what you’ve done with the study, Mr Donghyuck. The French chaise lounge with the gold frames and the Turkish rug adds a splendid maroon accent that my ancestors would most certainly be pleased with. You must be happy. Mr Mark certainly is a remarkable husband. His connections have gained you such lovely things.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Bingsu is a rather curious one, isn’t he? On numerous occasions, he has already disturbed my ancestors with his sniffling and growling. I caution you to keep him in check, lest he disturb the sleeping beast that lays within. Though I suppose that day is inevitable.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It has been many years since we’ve had fresh blood in the hallways. The house has come to life with excitement at your arrival. I pray you don’t mind the extra company, as they have so graciously accepted you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Have you discovered all of the secrets of the house yet? The allure of the house is a never-ending maze. You will discover much in your time here. I hope you don’t get lost.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I wish you both the best of luck. I will keep in touch.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Regards,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Your Friendly Neighbour.</em>
</p><p>Donghyuck releases a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. His body shudders.</p><p>“I don’t like this.” His hands involuntarily clench around the letter, effectively scrunching it along the side, “what kind of – how do they know what’s in my study? How do they know about you? And Bingsu? What extra company, what <em>beast</em> – fresh blood?!“</p><p>Mark nods solemnly. “I know, I know. It’s creepy, not to mention highly inappropriate. This is too much for a stupid prank.”</p><p>Somehow, Donghyuck is unconvinced this is a prank at all. Somehow, he doesn’t think the person behind the letter is doing this to scare them. Instead, it feels like the tell-tale signs of something more sinister.</p><p>These letters, they don’t sound new. They sound ritualistic.</p><p>“Mark,” Donghyuck looks at him seriously, “today, in town, I met this woman at a tea house. When I told her about the house, that we lived here –“</p><p>The image of the old woman’s worried, vaguely pitiful eyes flashed before him.</p><p>“ – she looked like she disapproved. It was like she felt sorry for me, or wanted to say something but didn’t.”</p><p>Mark furrows his brows. “What’re you trynna say?”</p><p>“Thinking about it, what the lady said to me, these letters, what I saw today – what I’ve been feeling ever since we got here – this – this ominous, haunted feeling –“</p><p>“Hyuck.” Mark stops him with a hand on his shoulder, steadies him with his gaze. “Hyuck-ah, you can’t be suggesting this house is haunted. Ghosts aren’t real, babe.”</p><p>“I know, I know how this sounds, trust me. But this… this all can’t be a coincidence.” Donghyuck searches Mark’s features. His voice grows quiet, “Right?”</p><p>“…I just don’t want you scaring yourself with someone that’s just not possible, okay?” Mark cups Donghyuck’s face, gently rubbing the latter’s temples with his thumbs.</p><p>“We’re gonna deal with what’s real first, okay? Which is this letter,” he tilts his head in its direction, “and I’m also gonna try to bring some work home, to be with you. Does that sound good?”</p><p>Donghyuck sighs, leaning forward to sink into Mark’s embrace.</p><p>“That sounds good.”</p><p>-</p><p>For the most part, Mark keeps to his promise of being around more whenever he can, delegating work to his subordinates or working from home even if it is only slightly possible. His efforts leave Donghyuck feeling torn, however, because as much as he appreciates Mark’s presence, he hates to think his husband is going to such lengths all <em>for him</em>.</p><p>Undoubtedly, for Mark, working from home is harder considering his job requires him to communicate with several departments whenever he needs to, to attend unprecedented meetings whenever they pop up, and most of all, to <em>oversee</em> the branch.</p><p>He can’t oversee anything if he isn’t there.</p><p>Donghyuck hates to think he is keeping Mark from being able to work efficiently, but Mark always promises he has no qualms about the new situation at all. Instead preferring that he can spend more time with Donghyuck and that he can kiss and cuddle him in between the hours.</p><p>It’s also a little more akin to the relaxed life Mark’s always wanted anyway. Things are less intense at home and he can work at his own pace – just the way he likes it.</p><p>Still, Donghyuck makes his own efforts at the same time. He familiarises himself with the house more, becoming acquainted with every nook and cranny, every random storage room and window and light switch and even which floorboard creaks, just so nothing can throw him off.</p><p>Per Mark’s suggestion, he also fills the house with music, finally dusting off his old records and playing them loudly just so the house will feel a little <em>fuller</em>. Especially on those unavoidable days when Mark has to go into work and Donghyuck finds his thoughts echoing throughout the silent house.</p><p>It’s another one of those days.</p><p>Donghyuck is in his craft room working on a 3D model of Mont Saint-Michel Mark brought back from his last business trip to France. It’s an intricate thing with over 300 pieces and is exactly the kind of distraction Donghyuck needs.</p><p>From the study two rooms down – which has been transformed into an office-for-two in light of recent developments – the vinyl loudly plays <em>The Best is Yet to Come.</em></p><p>The mood is good, the weather outside is sunny and warm, and Donghyuck hasn’t thought about the events of the previous week all day.</p><p>He hums to the music, <em>you think you've seen the sun, but you ain't seen it shine</em>.</p><p>Toto and Bingsu are in front of his desk fighting over a chew toy when one of them bumps into the workbench, making it shake, and a loose piece from the eastern tower of the model falls off.</p><p>“Hey, you two!” Donghyuck tuts in annoyance, slightly rising from his seat to scowl down at them, “play nice.”</p><p>
  <em>Wait till your charms are right for these arms, to surround, you think you've flown before, but baby you ain't left the ground.</em>
</p><p>Donghyuck uses his tweezers to carefully fix the piece back in their place, losing himself in the music once more. He checks the clock briefly, <em>4:13</em>, not long before Mark gets home.</p><p>
  <em>You think you've seen the sun, but you ain't seen it shine.</em>
</p><p>The record scratches, the zipping sound indicating that the needle has skidded off the surface of the vinyl. Donghyuck inwardly groans and is about to go fix it when the sound stops altogether. A moment later, the vinyl keeps playing as normal.</p><p>
  <em>Wait till you're locked in my embrace; wait till I draw you near.</em>
</p><p>Donghyuck tenses, fists clenched around the handles of his seat where he hovers, mid-rise.</p><p>
  <em>Wait till you're locked in my embrace; wait till I draw you near.</em>
</p><p>In no longer than a heartbeat, Donghyuck stands up and grabs his phone, hurriedly pulling up his phone app – but then he stops himself.</p><p>No. Mark was at work, and he’s already done enough. Donghyuck can’t worry him any more than he already has. He promised <em>himself</em>, Goddammit.</p><p>It’s all in his head, he repeats to himself. It’s all in his head.</p><p>He exits the craft room and heads for the study, his hands sweating profusely as he grips his phone tight. His heart beats so loudly in his ears it's deafening but there’s absolutely no way he’s letting these <em>stupid fears</em> get the better of him.</p><p>The study is just as he left it, empty and with the window open for some fresh air and light. The beige drapes stir with the light breeze. The vinyl plays on, no needle out of place, even though Donghyuck could swear he’d heard it scratch and repeat itself.</p><p>He exhales heavily and runs his hands through his hair, thumps his chest twice to still his crazy heart.</p><p>
  <em>Come on, Donghyuck. Get a grip!</em>
</p><p>He turns around to head back to the craft room when he hears loud footsteps coming from the foyer.</p><p>Donghyuck’s breathing stops momentarily.</p><p><em>Toto and Bingsu,</em> he thought to himself.</p><p>“Toto, Bingsu! I’m in here!” He shouts, half-expecting the two dogs to come running in search of him. But they don’t.</p><p>Donghyuck steps back out to the hallway and quickly makes his way to the foyer when the sound – <em>the footsteps</em> – comes from upstairs.</p><p>He dashes up the stairs two at a time, throwing open all the doors one by one and checking through every room. The thumps don’t stop, getting louder and closer as Donghyuck continues barging into every room. Bedroom, storage, bathroom, bedroom – <em>there.</em></p><p>Donghyuck’s blood runs cold.</p><p>Standing in the spare bedroom, looking out the window, was the figure – no – <em>a figure.</em> It is not the same one from before.</p><p>The figure this time is a woman in a dark-blue hanbok, her hair done into a low bun held together by an ornate pin. Her hands are folded over her stomach, face tilting away from Donghyuck as if his barging in and heavy breathing went unheard by her.</p><p>Donghyuck’s fists his hands, rooting himself in the doorway even though every fibre in his body screams at him to run.</p><p>“Hey! Who are you?!”</p><p>The woman doesn’t move, doesn’t stiffen, doesn’t acknowledge Donghyuck’s presence whatsoever.</p><p>And despite half his brain shouting it’s a bad idea, Donghyuck shouts again.</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>Finally, the woman straightens, turning her whole body around to face Donghyuck.</p><p>Same thin smile, same ghostly translucent skin. Same bone-chilling cold taking over Donghyuck’s entire body.</p><p>Holding her smile, she takes a step towards him, her movements slow.</p><p>Then, before Donghyuck can react, she rushes towards him with outstretched arms causing Donghyuck to stumble back in his attempt to escape.</p><p>He screams and screams, flying down the stairs and out the door, never daring to look back.</p><p> </p><p>Mark arrives home to find two police cars parked outside the house. Donghyuck is sitting on the curb, all curled into himself as Toto and Bingsu nudge him with their noses.</p><p>“Hyuck,” Mark gasps, slamming the car door shut behind him, “Donghyuck!”</p><p>The shout makes Donghyuck look up, and that’s when Mark’s gut wrenches at the sight of the fear-stricken, tear-stained face of his husband.</p><p>“<em>Hyuck</em>,” Mark brings Donghyuck into his arms, “what happened?”</p><p>Before Donghyuck can choke out an answer, the police exit the house and head straight for them.</p><p>“You’re the other owner of this property, right?” A rather sharp looking officer asks him.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Well, we searched the place and there was no one in there.” He turns to Donghyuck with a slack expression. Mark doesn’t miss the way he scans Donghyuck judgingly. “Whatever you saw is gone now, and there’s no proof of a break-in or any damage that might suggest so.”</p><p>“Okay, officer.” Mark stops him, catching the drift that the police would no longer be helpful – or even willing to. “We’ll sort this ourselves.”</p><p>The officer gives Mark another pointed look before tipping his hat and walking away.</p><p>After the police drive away, Mark sends Donghyuck back into the house with a kiss and promising that he’ll be in soon to get the full story. Once Donghyuck has stepped inside the house, Mark instinctively goes to check the mailbox.</p><p>It’s a habit by now to do so every time he comes home from work. But today the metal flap to the mailbox has been left slightly ajar, enough for him to discern the pale-yellow envelope. He quickly pulls it out and shoves it away into his pocket before heading inside the house.</p><p>“You think I’m going crazy.”</p><p>Mark blinks at his husband. “What?”</p><p>“You think I’m going crazy because I got the police involved over nothing.” Donghyuck’s hands start to quiver. He runs them through his hair, “but I swear – I swear it wasn’t nothing, Mark, I saw a woman and she – she ran at me and – and – she –“</p><p>“Babe, babe.” Mark pulled Donghyuck into his chest, tilting his head up to lock their eyes.</p><p>Mark almost doesn’t recognize his lover anymore. This person before him, shaking in his arms, was not the Donghyuck he knew and loved.</p><p>Whatever’s going on, it’s gone on too far.</p><p>“I believe you. I believe you, Donghyuck.”</p><p>Donghyuck’s expression softened. Relieved, he whimpered, “you do?”</p><p>“I do.” Mark pulls out the letter from his pocket. He’d been debating showing Donghyuck, seeing as how panicked the latter already was, but they’ve never hidden anything from the other and Mark certainly isn’t about to start now.</p><p>Donghyuck’s eyes widen as Mark unfolds the paper to read what it says.</p><p>
  <em>I see you’ve already met some of the other residents of 74 Seongbuk-dong. I hope you don’t mind sharing your residence with them. My ancestors have been living here for years now, after all.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Are you scared? It would be a shame if you are. We are only here to play. It is only when the fresh blood starts to interfere that Mother gets angry. I hope you will take this as caution.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The ritual has only just begun. There are many more secrets to uncover. I look forward to seeing how you writhe and squirm in the belly of the beast.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Until next time.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Regards,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Your Friendly Neighbour.</em>
</p><p>On cue, darkness sweeps through the house as the last of the sun rays disappear behind the cloudy horizon. Donghyuck hurried reaches behind Mark to flick on the foyer lights.</p><p>“Whoever is writing these, they must be responsible for everything you’ve been seeing.” Mark decides, eyes boring holes into the letter as if his glare would reach the person behind them.</p><p>Donghyuck shakes his head. “No, no. What I saw today – there’s no way a living person did this.”</p><p>“Babe, I understand what you’re feeling, But there are many ways people can cause hallucinations or get into their head –“</p><p>“You think I’m hallucinating?!” Donghyuck shoves Mark away and holds him with a stare. “I’m not hallucinating.”</p><p>“Donghyuck –“</p><p>“I’m not hallucinating, Mark.” Donghyuck whispers, “you have to believe me. There’s something <em>wrong </em>with this house.”</p><p>“Okay, I’m sorry.” Mark carefully reaches out for Donghyuck’s hands, “I’ll call the police and show them the letters–“</p><p>“And the ghosts?! They’re not gonna believe that.”</p><p>Mark sighs. Talking to Donghyuck in this state felt like fighting a losing battle.</p><p>“What else do you want me to do, babe?” He pulls Donghyuck into a hug. “Who else do I need to call?”</p><p>-</p><p>Around midday, the sound of the doorbell brims throughout the house.</p><p>Donghyuck, who had just woken up, clambers down the stairs, stopping at the second-last step as Mark comes to open the door. They share a nervous, tired glance, then pull the door open.</p><p>“Good afternoon.” Greets a tall man with jet-black hair. He smiles at them brightly, his eyes curved into crescents. “My name is Lee Jeno, and this is my partner, Na Jaemin.”</p><p>The investigator tips his head back towards a silver-haired man standing a step behind him. His hands are shoved into his pockets, a lax but kind smile curved on his lips.</p><p>“We’re Private Investigators from the Northern Police Department.”</p><p>It takes Mark a few moments of blank staring before he snaps back to reality. The exhaustion from the previous day makes everything now feel like a dream.</p><p>“Right. We – uhh – called for… you guys.”</p><p>The investigator pair look between Mark and Donghyuck curiously, subtly discerning them. When Donghyuck cranes his neck to look behind them, the officer in front – <em>Jeno</em> – looks back over his shoulder.</p><p>“Were you two expecting someone else?”</p><p>Donghyuck looks at him and slowly shakes his head. “No.”</p><p>“We’ll get you guys to come inside first,” Mark interjects, stepping back and opening the door wider.</p><p>The two men step inside and Donghyuck comes down to show them into the living room. Just as Mark has closed the door and is about to follow after them, the doorbell rings again.</p><p>Jeno and Jaemin turn curiously to the door, glancing towards an exasperated Mark as Donghyuck pushes past them.</p><p>When Donghyuck opens the door, he’s surprised to find a small, sprightly blond man beaming back at him. Two young men – or more, <em>boys</em> – hang at each side carrying large backpacks.</p><p>“Hi! The name is Huang Renjun. You called for a demonologist?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello!! I'm finally here with ch 1 (or 2, if you think abt it)! Starting from now, the narration will be very different! We are moving into the ~case files~</p><p>Sorry this took a little longer than expected. Personal life isn't the greatest atm and uni is steamrolling in with the assessments.<br/>But, I hope you enjoy this chapter! You might notice I added the "slow burn" tag. This fic is gonna be a bit long even though I've planned the timeline to span over a week only, and that's because I'll be jumping from pov, and some scenes may even be repeated but from Jeno/Renjun's pov. I hope that's not too confusing?? I want to show how their perspective of events and even their perceptions of each other differ! I also want this to kind of read like its being watched - which probably makes no sense, but I've basically included "case file" time stamps at the beginning of each scene. The time stamps align to Renjun's and Jeno's respective "logs." I've added a tiny detail (brackets) to indicate who is "recording" or being "recorded", for more ease of reading. This is probably a whole lot of shit that doesn't make sense, but I'm just playing a lot with perspective and style here! Sorry in advance, lol.</p><p>I won't hold you up any further hhh please read on and thank you for waiting!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>[11:57. WEDNESDAY.]</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>From the get-go, Renjun decides that he doesn’t like Jeno.</p><p>It’s one of the only flaws in his character – to judge someone before he’s had the chance to know them, or in this case, before they’ve even spoken. But just from the way Jeno looked at him when Renjun proclaimed his profession, just from the faint look of disbelief and the scoff under his breath, Renjun decides he doesn’t like Jeno.</p><p>And his intuition is never wrong.</p><p>The house he and his assistants have been called to is a rather regal structure, most likely built in the 1920s judging by its architectural design. There’s no doubt it had once belonged to a prominent family since very few could afford such a grand house, in this location no less.</p><p>When his client – <em>Mr</em> <em>Donghyuck</em>, if he remembers correctly from the phone call – invites him inside, Renjun does a quick scan of the house. What appeared already splendid from the outside was even mightier on the inside. From the high-ceiling, the stiff and sturdy walls, tough framing and heavy doors, the house is already in a class of its own when compared to the others around the area, and Renjun’s suspicions are immediately confirmed.</p><p>This house is a beast, and the presence residing within it is no simple foe. Already, he can feel it, breathing down his neck. As if it knows who he is. As if it’s disturbed by his very presence.</p><p><em>Hmph, </em>Renjun scoffs inwardly, smirking to himself, <em>whatever. He’s not looking to be liked, anyway.</em></p><p>It’s no surprise to Renjun when he finds out Donghyuck’s husband, Mark, isn’t exactly so inclined to the idea of the house being haunted. It is surprising, however, to find two other investigators in the house at the same time.</p><p>Renjun can feel their eyes on him, can feel them judging him from the moment he announced himself. Particularly from Officer Jeno, which is a shame because he fits the bill of <em>tall, dark, and handsome</em> perfectly.</p><p><em>Whatever.</em> He throws them one cursory glance before turning back to Donghyuck.</p><p>He has more important business to attend to than what a handsome stranger thinks of him.</p><p>The couple invites them into the living to explain what’s been happening, for how long and to what extent the unexplainable happenings have affected them. Mark presents both parties with the strange letters they’ve been receiving, while Donghyuck explains – to mostly Renjun and his crew – about the ghosts he’s seen.</p><p>Renjun turns to Jisung, his youngest apprentice, making sure he’s noting down the details.</p><p>“On two separate occasions, a man in the kitchen, and a woman in the bedroom upstairs?” Renjun clarifies.</p><p>Donghyuck nods. “Yes.”</p><p>Renjun folds his hands together, chewing his lip, deep in thought. From the sound of it, it seems to him that the house was infested with parasites. He’ll need to clarify their motive as well as why they are here, but generally, all parasites have the same motive.</p><p>
  <em>To devour.</em>
</p><p>“These letters,” Officer Jeno speaks from the seat beside him, “they seem to be oddly specific about the interior of your house. Is there someone you know who might have had a way of knowing such details?”</p><p>“Like, a colleague who knew about the move and what you were ordering for the house.” Officer Jaemin continues. “Can you recall telling anyone anything, or any way someone might have found out?”</p><p>Mark shakes his head. “Every order went through me only. Well, me and my husband.”</p><p>“Of course.” Jaemin nods.</p><p>“We’ll run the investigation.” Jeno assures them, “we’ll do our best in putting a stop to whoever is behind these cryptic letters.” He briefly scans the room. “They’re familiar with the house already, so I wouldn’t put it past them to be behind the – umm – <em>hauntings</em> as well.”</p><p>At that, Renjun can’t help but scoff loudly.</p><p>Jeno scowls at him. “You think differently?”</p><p>“Of course.” Renjun deadpans, “My client did not call me for no reason. This is no <em>prank</em>, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”</p><p>“So, it’s true?” Donghyuck interjects before Jeno can rebut, “you can already tell that – the house is…”</p><p>“Haunted?” Renjun finishes. He crosses his legs and smiles smugly. “Yes. I can already sense paranormal entities within this building. I have a rough idea already of what class it might be, but I’ll need to investigate to clarify.”</p><p>“Then, what about the letters?” Mark asks, leaning forward, he rubs his temples, “please, don’t tell me we’re dealing with some crazy freak <em>and</em> ghosts.”</p><p>His face twists, as if he just realised what he said and the absurdity of it all is starting to hit him all over again.</p><p>Renjun frowns. From Donghyuck’s explanation over the phone, all the signs pointed towards the typical doings of a poltergeist or parasite. Doors closing by themselves, random fluctuations in temperature, items being moved around, all point directly towards the work of a poltergeist. However, the clear figures Donghyuck saw and the stares Renjun could feel on him are more suggestive of the presence of a parasite.</p><p>The difference is simple: a poltergeist is responsible for physical disturbances, but have no clear shape or form, whereas a parasite isn’t capable of such but will exhibit a more tangible appearance.</p><p>Is it possible Renjun’s dealing with both here?</p><p>As for the letters, there’s nothing he’s ever learnt or discovered about any type of spirit that’s able to write letters. So, maybe they are dealing with some <em>crazy freak</em> too.</p><p>The thought makes Renjun groan inwardly, and he stops himself from looking in the direction of the two investigators. He can deal with spirits, but humans are a whole different issue.</p><p>Perhaps these two officers are needed after all.</p><p>“I can’t say what I make of the le –“</p><p>“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Jeno interjects, edging forward on his seat. He gives both Mark and Donghyuck a sincere look. “Don’t worry.”</p><p>To that, Renjun nods along too. Be it spirits or humans or both, he’ll solve this case.</p><p>“Mr Donghyuck –“</p><p>“Just call me Donghyuck.”</p><p>“Okay, Donghyuck. Do you mind giving us a tour of the house?” Renjun asks. “I’d like to get a reading and take some pictures if that’s okay?”</p><p>Donghyuck nods in approval, guiding Renjun and his apprentices out of the living room, leaving Mark and the two investigators behind to discuss matters regarding the letters. Before they begin, Renjun quickly instructs Chenle and Jisung to ready the infrared and high-speed cameras so they can take pictures of the locations in question.</p><p>As Donghyuck shows them around, Renjun sets himself in the zone, trying to locate where any strong paranormal presence could be coming from. In other words, what Renjun needs to find first is the Demongate – the centre point, wherein most of the negative energy or spirits originate from or are the strongest.</p><p>In most cases, it is at the northern end of the haunted site, and judging by the position of the sun right now at 12:22 pm, the door to the house was facing South-West, which means the Demongate, most possibly, is located towards the back.</p><p>Renjun lets Jisung and Chenle carry on with taking photos of the guest lounge that’s situated right next to the front door, and steps back out to the foyer himself. As he stares down the hallway, down, down, until it ends at the room right at the back, a chill runs down his spine. Somehow, he can hear the walls around him groaning, the ground beneath him moaning as the house twists and contorts right before his eyes. The house grows darker and darker as shadows swarm in from all around.</p><p>Then he blinks, and the image is gone. Everything is still and bright and perfect.</p><p>“Boss,” Jisung calls.</p><p>Renjun turns to the three faces blinking back at him.</p><p>“You okay? Did you see something?”</p><p>Renjun glances down the hall again, then around, before shaking his head. “No, let’s carry on.”</p><p>They waste no more time, quickly making their way around the house with Jisung and Chenle photographing any irregularities, while Renjun tries to sense them out. But even when they’re standing at the northernmost end of the house, Renjun feels nothing.</p><p>It’s as if the spirits had vanished, or every sinister feeling up until then had been a figment of his imagination.</p><p>“So?” Donghyuck looks at them expectantly, standing at the door to the spare bedroom – the place of the last ghost-sighting. “Are you getting anything?”</p><p>Renjun lays his right palm flat against the wall and closes his eyes. He relaxes his mind and body, breathing out until his lungs clench in his chest, and lets his soul wander.</p><p>Everything goes dark. Every sound fades to nothing.</p><p>He searches through the black abyss, for a sign, for a voice, for anything to reach back –</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Renjun gasps, the energy knocking back into him. He takes a second to gather himself before he turns to Donghyuck, shaking his head.</p><p>“Not yet. Not right now.”</p><p>He watches the young man in front of him deflate, watches him swallow a lump in his throat. Renjun can tell just by looking into Donghyuck’s eyes the quiet, helpless plea that presses against his tongue; he can tell, without any words, what Donghyuck is already thinking.</p><p>
  <em>So, I really am going crazy.</em>
</p><p>“But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing here.” Renjun adds quickly with a little smile, “I said I felt something, didn’t I? Just because it’s gone now doesn’t mean it was never here. It might take some time, and some spirits like to be clever and play games,” he says, rolling his eyes, “but I’ll get rid of them. I promise.”</p><p>For what it’s worth, Donghyuck looks entirely relieved. He runs his hands through his hair and away from his eyes. Glassy and sunken into their sockets.</p><p>Renjun frowns in pity.</p><p>“I’m not like this, you know?” Donghyuck says with a light laugh, “I don’t wanna think I’m doing this to myself because – but – I can’t believe it’s something like ghosts either – but –“ he sighs heavily, rubbing his temples, “ – I’m stressing out Mark too, dammit –“</p><p>“You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself.” Renjun gives him a smile as Jisung and Chenle join his side. “Your feelings are completely normal considering the situation you’re in right now, and I promise once again, that you can depend on us.”</p><p>Donghyuck looks between the three faces smiling back at him, at the two younger boys nodding fervently and at Renjun standing, with his arms crossed, between them.</p><p>“Then, consider me in your debt.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>12:17. WEDNESDAY.</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Okay, Donghyuck. Do you mind giving us a tour of the house?” Renjun asks. “I’d like to get a reading and takes some pictures if that’s okay?”</p><p>Donghyuck nods, guiding the three <em>paranormal investigators</em> out of the room. Jeno’s eyes trail after Renjun as the latter exits the room. He hums under his breath before turning back to Mark.</p><p>“Sorry about –“ Mark fidgets in his seat, eyes darting from the door and back, “I know it’s not ideal to have someone else investigating while, uhh, you two are. But my husband… he needed this. I didn’t want him to think he was…“</p><p>“Crazy?” Jeno finishes for him once Mark starts to trail off. The comment apparently shocks both Mark and Jaemin, as the latter smacks Jeno’s arm for it and Mark’s eyes double in size.</p><p>“Sorry.” Jeno hastily adds as Jaemin hisses under his breath for him to <em>shut up.</em></p><p>“Oh, no. I was actually gonna say it’s so he didn’t think he was being ignored.” Mark defends. With a laugh, he adds, “but, I understand how this looks too, so, <em>yeah.</em> I don’t believe it either, but he needs this.”</p><p>“Of course, we understand completely.” Jaemin says, “Jeno and I will get on this immediately. And don’t worry, we can still run a separate investigation, with or without interference from the other party.”</p><p>Jeno nods in agreement, sending Mark another sheepish look that is met with an easy smile. And so, Jeno relaxes.</p><p>He’s always been a little too blunt for his own good, but it’s not his fault. He was raised on the principle that honesty is everything.</p><p>After that, Jaemin goes on to explain how they plan to carry out the investigation. It would involve closely monitoring the house, interviewing their neighbours, and even following up on every person both Mark and Donghyuck interact with – if need be.</p><p>“We’ll probably split at times,” Jaemin explains, looking to Jeno briefly, “so one of us can trace the letters while the other monitors the house. Cross-check anyone that stops by, neighbours or mailmen, etcetera.”</p><p>Mark takes in all the information seriously, nodding and humming, brows creased in concentration as Jaemin continues running through the procedure. A while later, Jeno gets side-tracked when the demonologist comes into view again.</p><p>From the corner of his eye, through the open doorway, Jeno watches Renjun step back out into the foyer and stare intently down the hall. He stands impossible still, eyes screwed as he stares at something across the house.</p><p><em>Or someone</em>, Jeno’s brain supplies.</p><p>He frowns. He doesn’t understand why the demonologist bothers him so much. Whatever the absurdity of Renjun’s <em>profession</em>, it’s none of Jeno’s business.</p><p>Maybe it’s just because before today Jeno didn’t think <em>ghostbusters</em> existed outside of the movies.</p><p>When he looks out the door again, Renjun is already gone. And so, Jeno filters him out of his mind.</p><p>Afterwards, Jeno and Jaemin stand up to leave, taking the evidence along with them and leaving a promise to get in touch tomorrow as soon as they’re done examining the letters.</p><p>They meet Renjun and his team in the foyer again.</p><p>Jeno watches the demonologist fiddle with his watch – an old-fashioned thing with a dial and clear flip-top lens that has some sort of target symbol marked in red. He looks utterly like a cartoon character.</p><p>Feeling Jeno’s gaze on him, Renjun looks up, glaring.</p><p>Jeno flinches and swiftly averts his eyes.</p><p>“We’ll be back tomorrow morning with some more equipment,” Renjun tells Donghyuck, sending a brisk but polite smile Mark’s way. “We’ll need to borrow a room to make a home-base, so if you could clear out a room as much as possible…”</p><p>“Yeah, sure!” Donghyuck nods. “We’ll free up the guest lounge!”</p><p>“Perfect.” Renjun glances between Mark and Donghyuck, seemingly contemplating his next words. “I don’t want to alarm you in any way, and I assure you I recommend this to most of my clients, but I think it would be in your best interest to arrange temporary accommodation elsewhere.”</p><p>Mark simply stares at him mutely, pondering whether or not the tiny <em>demonologist </em>was being serious. Jeno doesn’t blame him – he’s wondering the same thing, and he’s itching to tell the other man how ridiculous he sounds asking people to move out because of a few ghosts Jeno doubts the existence of anyway.</p><p>But, judging by the look Donghyuck sends Mark, frantic and concerned, Jeno has an inkling the latter will comply.</p><p>“I… understand.” Mark submits, tearing his eyes away from Donghyuck to Renjun. “We’ll pack our essentials.”</p><p>Renjun nods, “Rest assured, this is only temporary. A couple of days, at most.”</p><p>“Are we allowed to be here for the…” Mark gestures randomly in explanation.</p><p>“I don’t mind. I actually think it’s important for clients to understand what we’re dealing with.”</p><p>A funny feeling settles at the pit of Jeno’s stomach when a slight smirk hooks on the corner of Renjun’s mouth. Jeno can’t pinpoint why, but there’s something about it that’s enticing, challenging, and a little unsettling.</p><p>He thinks, perhaps, it’s got to do with how these so-called <em>ghostbusters</em> are taking advantage of this couple – especially the vulnerable Donghyuck.</p><p>Simply put, there’s something distrustful about the demonologist, and as a P.I., it’s sort of his job to be wary of such scammers. For all he knows, Renjun and his team might be the ones behind all of this, judging by how unfazed they were by the letters and how easily they pandered to the theory of <em>ghosts</em>.</p><p>They finish for the day after the clients agree to take temporary residence elsewhere. In hindsight, it’s a smart decision because they don’t know anything about the culprit and what they are capable of. On the other hand, if the culprit is the demonologist, as Jeno suspects, then this could also be the perfect opportunity for a robbery. The house is quite lavishly furnished, after all.</p><p>Jeno conveys his suspicions to Jaemin as soon as they step into the car, ready to drive away from the Lee residence. “They’re way too suspicious to rule out as potential suspects.”</p><p>Jaemin hums, starting the ignition. “I guess so. We can’t rule out anyone at this point.”</p><p>“It’s obvious they’re taking advantage of this distressed couple, I mean, <em>ghosts?!</em> And he could <em>sense </em>them before taking two steps into the house?! I won’t be surprised if they’re the ones behind all of this.” Jeno grumbles, “They were obviously not expecting us to be there either.” He wags a finger in the air as if it was all starting to make sense, “probably scared we’d catch onto them.”</p><p>He pulls out a notepad from his breast pocket and starts to jot down his thoughts.</p><p>From beside him, Jaemin spares him a brief look of concern.</p><p>“I think you’re running too far and fast with this theory. They could also be innocent. Innocent little ghosthunters who are genuinely trying to help.”</p><p>Jeno hums with complaint, tapping his pen on the page, “No. He was <em>definitely</em> not happy to see me, the little demonologist.”</p><p>“I think that has more to do with the way you laughed at his job title. He probably won’t be too happy with you calling him <em>little,</em> either.”</p><p>“I didn’t laugh!”</p><p>“<em>Scoffed</em>.”</p><p>Jeno concedes and falls silent, staring holes into his notepad and the orange envelope of evidence lying on his lap. He’s aware Jaemin’s got a point, but right now, the ghostbusters are the most obvious lead they have to anything.</p><p>It wouldn’t be too outlandish to assume their motive either. Judging by their business, they eliminate or deal with spirits. Now, it’s possible that their business initially started well, and they helped clients calm their fears regarding ghosts – whether they really exorcised any or just acted as a placebo is none of Jeno’s concern. But they might’ve lost business over the years, and therefore resorted to more desperate tactics – planting the ghosts themselves. It certainly wouldn’t be the first case of its kind that Jeno’s seen.</p><p>It’s also entirely possible that they never had any business from the start, and this is just an act to fulfil one certain individual’s hyperactive imagination <em>and</em> get paid for it.</p><p>Jaemin licks his lips and nods slowly. “That is all very plausible.”</p><p>“I think we should keep an eye on them. See what they’re up to and how they plan to deal with the <em>ghosts.</em>”</p><p>“Okay. I mean, it’s part of our job anyway. Just don’t get too carried away trying to get the cute boy’s attention.”</p><p>Jeno violently twists to face Jaemin, “what?”</p><p>“Nothing.”</p><p>“I don’t think Renjun’s cute.”</p><p>Jaemin guffaws, amazed. “I didn’t even say his name.”</p><p>“He could be a criminal.”</p><p>“Okay.” Without looking away from the road, Jaemin reaches out to pat Jeno on the cheek and smiles cheekily, “whatever you say.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>[08:27. THURSDAY.]</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The next morning, a sleek black van pulls up to 74 Seongbuk-dong, the tinted windows completely concealing what lay inside.</p><p>Jisung steps out from the passenger seat and pulls down the seat to let Chenle climb out. They then head to the back, opening up the double-door boot to reveal a wall of box-monitors, neatly stacked on top of each other.</p><p>From the driver’s seat, Renjun sends a quick text to Donghyuck letting him know of their arrival, to which Donghyuck responds by opening the front door and heading down towards them. His two dogs run behind him, not once leaving his side.</p><p>“I got here early to ready the room for you guys.” He says when Renjun meets him halfway up the driveway. He looks over to where Chenle and Jisung stack the monitors onto a cart, confusion scrunched on his face.</p><p>“We’ll be putting up thermographic cameras all over the house to survey any signs of paranormal phenomena,” Renjun explains without even glancing back to where Donghyuck is staring. “It’ll help us determine where the spiritual activity is occurring, and will also help us locate the Demongate.”</p><p>Now Donghyuck looks at him confused. “The… what?”</p><p>Renjun nods in understanding. <em>Of course</em>, he’d expected such an answer. He hooks an arm for Donghyuck to hold and says, “Walk with me,” before leading him back into the house to explain how the investigation will run.</p><p>The paranormal investigation team will set up base in one room from where they will survey the rest of the house. It is important that even if Donghyuck and Mark do not stay the night in the house – for safety reasons – they carry on about their daily lives as per usual to understand when, where, and why the spirits emerge. What triggers them to reveal themselves and how can they be dealt with.</p><p>What they need to find out first of all though is the type of spirit they’re dealing with, parasite or poltergeist, and how many of them there are. A poltergeist can be easily exorcised, but a parasite requires confrontation.</p><p>Renjun has never enjoyed his battles with parasites.</p><p>By locating the Demongate and consecutively the type of spirit, they can perform a cleansing and create a seal to prevent the gate from opening again, or at least form a barrier to repel them. There are also cases in which they will have to appease a spirit, through a decoy or <em>voodoo</em> doll, but those are rare.</p><p>“What kind of signs do you look for when trying to figure out what kind of ghost it is?” Donghyuck asks him. They’re in the guest lounge now which has been semi-cleared out to make space for the equipment. The couch is pushed right up against the wall and the coffee table along the wall across.</p><p>Renjun breaks from inspecting the room to instead examine Donghyuck. One of the easiest-to-spot signs of paranormal phenomena, other than physical disturbances or unstable energy levels, is the toll it takes on the living. Anything from sudden tired, red eyes or dark circles, to more severe signs of pale and waxy skin, can be an indicator of a <em>paranormal infection</em> lingering in the air. Usually related to parasites.</p><p>Looking at Donghyuck now, he is almost a different man from the one Renjun met yesterday. His eyes are brighter, his movements sharper, and his voice is clearer and stronger. His complexion is brighter too, a lovely warmth flowing under his skin that makes him glow.</p><p>The changes aren’t drastic, but when compared to the Donghyuck of yesterday, they’re noticeable. The clear signs of a parasite’s presence.</p><p>But, the trouble with such observations is that they can also be entirely attributed to, well, stress.</p><p>It may have nothing to do with a parasite at all, and Donghyuck could also just be mentally exhausted from the current situation, and being away from the house for a night has allowed him to get a good night’s sleep. Plain and simple, rejuvenation.</p><p>All possibilities that Renjun momentarily files away into a corner of his brain, which he’ll later have Jisung jot down in an actual case file.</p><p>Presently, Donghyuck pats his cheek, pulling it a little. “Is there something on my face?” As an afterthought, with a look of panic, he adds, “<em>oh my God</em>, is there a ghost behind me?”</p><p>“Huh?” Renjun shakes away his thoughts and quickly reassures Donghyuck that there isn’t. The latter relaxes tremendously. “Sorry. I was just thinking that you looked healthier today. Did you sleep well?”</p><p>“Oh, yeah! God, for the first time in weeks, I didn’t feel like someone was watching me while I slept, y’ know?” With a sheepish smile, he continues, “I must’ve looked really bad because my husband said the same thing in the morning.”</p><p>Renjun smiles, a slight tingle in his chest, “He must’ve been very worried.”</p><p>Donghyuck nods gleefully, “yeah, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but he didn’t want me calling you. Thought you guys were scammers or something. But today, he said that if you being here makes me feel this better already, then he’s fine with you sticking around forever.”</p><p>Renjun responds with an airy laugh. He’s not surprised to hear about the <em>scammer</em> part.</p><p>“I will do my best.”</p><p>By now Jisung and Chenle have brought in all the equipment, so they begin assembling the surveillance unit. They stack the monitors on the desk in order from one-to-thirty in correspondence with the cameras.</p><p>Then the doorbell rings. Donghyuck goes to open the door, Renjun peering after him.</p><p>“Oh, it’s you. From yesterday.”</p><p>“Hey,” greets the voice from the door, “I let Mark know I was coming to investigate the property. Starting today.”</p><p>“Cool.” Donghyuck steps back and does a grand gesture towards the guest room, “the others are here already.”</p><p>The next second brings Investigator Jeno’s tall figure into view, and he’s staring directly at Renjun. He’s wearing a brown corduroy-jacket today with his dark hair is slicked back. It does excellently highlight the sharp features of his stupidly handsome face. Goddammit.</p><p>Graciously, Renjun offers him a stiff smile then flips around on his heel.</p><p>“What the hell are you guys doing?” The investigator voices as he steps closer to the growing wall of screens, stopping beside Renjun, an arm’s length away.</p><p>“Surveillance hub.” Renjun deadpans. “And? What’re you doing here?”</p><p>From the corner of his eye, Renjun sees Jeno looking at him incredulously.</p><p>“Monitoring the property. Looking out for suspicious activity.”</p><p>There’s a trace of accusation in Jeno’s tone that Renjun doesn’t miss. He grinds his teeth, but keeps quiet, nonetheless.</p><p>“Boss,” Chenle says, holding up the box of cameras, “we should start setting these up.”</p><p>“Right.” Renjun takes the box from Chenle, passing a worried look over to Jisung in the corner who’s got his feet, and somehow his arms, tangled up in the cords. Without having to say anything else, Chenle sighs and goes over to help him.</p><p>“I’ll fix these up then.” Renjun grabs the folded stepladder from beside the door when Chenle absently nods and points to it. He glances over to Donghyuck, the latter looking at him expectantly. He most certainly doesn’t look at Jeno, who is staring at the back of his head with x-ray intensity. “Donghyuck, you can relax if you like. Or if you have work to do, go ahead. It’s best if you go on as normal so we can track down the spirit’s pattern.”</p><p>“Okay, that’s fine. I’ll be in the study if you guys need anything.”</p><p>Once Donghyuck is out of the room, Renjun prepares to leave too. He hoists the box of cameras up and balances it on his hip, then hooks his other arm through the stepladder. For a split second, he teeters, losing balance from the weight on each arm, but he quickly cements his footing.</p><p>After all, Jeno’s still watching him.</p><p>Renjun takes two steps out the door before he whips his head around, warily squinting at Jeno, who follows closely behind. The latter blinks at him with faux innocence, stance relaxed as if waiting for Renjun to move along.</p><p>With a huff, Renjun stomps out.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>08:45. THURSDAY.</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>When Jeno arrives at the Lee residence, there’s a large black van parked outside which he can only assume to be of the <em>ghostbusters</em>.</p><p>It’s fifteen minutes before 9, and he was technically supposed to arrive earlier, but a slight oversight on his part caused him to be stuck in the morning traffic for a good half-hour, causing him a loss in what <em>needs</em> <em>to be</em> a comprehensive inspection. He can only hope the suspects haven’t tampered with the house any further, in the short time they’ve gone unmonitored.</p><p>Thankfully, it appears that they’re only just getting started.</p><p>Entering the house, Jeno turns towards the guest lounge and sets his eyes, first thing, on Renjun. The demonologist is rocking beige suspenders today that highlight his petite frame splendidly, with a plain white button-up, a black tie, all topped off with a black beret sitting on top of golden locks.</p><p><em>Don’t get too carried away trying to get the cute boy’s attention </em>– Jaemin’s words haunt him.</p><p>Jeno squints, reorienting himself to the task. Renjun is a prime suspect in this case, and Jeno will not fall for any of his tactics – cute face and all.</p><p>A few seconds of intense staring later, Renjun huffs and turns away. Jeno holds back an eye-roll, gaze shifting towards the growing stack of mini-monitors the two assistants – <em>or sub-suspects </em>– are building.</p><p>“What the hell are you guys doing?”</p><p>“Surveillance hub,” Renjun says without sparing so much as a glance. “And? What’re you doing here?”</p><p>Jeno scrutinizes him, wonders if Renjun’s being serious in asking what a <em>P.I.</em> is doing on-site. He wonders if, behind the air of dogma, Renjun is scared of being caught. Or if he’s done this enough to be confident that he won’t.</p><p>“Monitoring the property.” Jeno replies, then with a squint and challenging tone, he adds, “looking out for suspicious activity.”</p><p>Tension reveals in the form of a vein clenching along the side of Renjun’s neck. Jeno takes it as a clue, but otherwise, Renjun remains disappointingly unfazed.</p><p>One of the assistants comes up to Renjun and hands him a box of tiny little cameras to hook up around the house. Their attention then catches on the boy a little further from him, sitting on the floor, gangly limbs all tangled up in the giant web of cords.</p><p>Jeno wants to both laugh and help him out, the poor guy, but then reminds himself that he’s possibly an accomplice to the key suspect. His chivalry is tested again a couple of minutes later after Renjun dismisses Donghyuck.</p><p>He watches Renjun balance the box of cameras and the step-ladder on both hands, watches him struggle, then waddles out of the door. He must’ve heard Jeno snort or something because he whips his head around and <em>glares</em> at him.</p><p>Luckily Jeno schools his expression fast, and so Renjun carries on his merry way. Jeno follows close behind.</p><p>For the most part, Renjun ignores him entirely as he sets up the cameras at each corner of the room. One for small rooms, two or even three for larger rooms, all angled precisely for a complete view.</p><p>Jeno notes down the locations of them all. He suspects that when and if there are any signs of paranormal activity showing up in the monitors, he can trace them back to the exact cameras and figure out if Renjun may have tampered with it. The ghosthunters claim that they are simply <em>thermographic</em> cameras, but Jeno’s no fool to the wonders of technology and how easy it is to trick people with it.</p><p>They get through the first floor fairly quickly despite Renjun’s struggle to unfold the ladder, climb on, stretch to the ceiling to set up the camera, then climb down and fold the ladder up again for ease of carrying. He’s so small, Jeno almost wants to do it for him, but every time Jeno’s body so much as nears Renjun (involuntarily, of course, since Jeno’s not trying to <em>help</em> his prime suspect), the latter death-stares him into backing away.</p><p>Jeno’s got to hand it to him – the little guy is iron-willed.</p><p>They get to the sunroom and the study last, both of which are near the back of the house. Donghyuck is busy on the phone when they enter, having a passive-aggressive argument with someone on the other end, but he gives them a thumbs-up as the signal to go ahead.</p><p>Renjun sets up the cameras at two points: one in the corner of the room, away from the door and facing the window, and another on the window side, facing the door. After he’s done, he twists his body around while still at a vantage point on the ladder to ensure a full view of the room. And every time he does so, the ladder wobbles under his weight. Jeno finds his eyes instinctively wandering to Renjun’s feet, alert to any signs of the latter slipping.</p><p>Moving on to the sunroom, they’re followed by the brown poodle Bingsu – if Jeno heard correctly. Renjun stops halfway to coo and pat the dog on the head, then throw Jeno another icy stare over his shoulder. His eyes briefly stop at the notepad in Jeno’s hands, jaws clenching, then he turns away without saying anything.</p><p>Slightly amused, Jeno makes a note of it.</p><p>The sunroom is shaped a little differently from the other rooms in the house, which isn’t surprising given its location and purpose. The room itself extends out of the general house, and the ceiling of the room slants as such to allow more natural light. The windows are tall and wide, reaching up to the ceiling and with no awning, the room is brightly lit.</p><p>Renjun stops in the middle of the room and stares out the window, sighing. “What a beautiful day.”</p><p>Jeno wonders if he’s meant to say anything back, then thinks better of it. Judging by Renjun’s hostility towards him, he probably isn’t looking to make small talk with Jeno.</p><p>In this room, it’s harder to get the camera up where Renjun wants it. There’s a bookshelf in the way, so Renjun has to place the ladder a little further away and then lean his body across to where he wants to hook it up.</p><p>“Hey.” Renjun suddenly snaps at Jeno, halfway up the ladder. Jeno, who was preoccupied with rubbing Bingsu’s tummy, looks up and blinks. “Since you’re here, be useful. Hold the ladder for me.”</p><p>“What, no ‘please’?” Jeno retorts with a smile in his tone, but shoves his notepad away and steps over to help.</p><p>Renjun doesn’t entertain him with an answer. Once Jeno’s got his hands firm on the ladder, Renjun climbs to the top step and then places his right foot on the top handle – specifically where they advise not to step on. He then leans his body across, camera in hand.</p><p>It would’ve been wiser to have Jeno do it instead, the P.I. finds himself thinking. The extra inches he’s got on Renjun would be enough to do the job easily, but the latter hadn’t asked and so Jeno hadn’t offered.</p><p>When Jeno looks up, checking Renjun’s progress, his eyes travel over the male’s slender form. His clothes cling to his arms and torso where his body stretches, and he’s so dainty everywhere.</p><p>Jeno swallows dryly.</p><p>“You got it?” Jeno asks, craning his neck to see the camera.</p><p>He catches Renjun’s frozen expression instead. His eyes are shot wide open, jaw locked. Renjun looks down at his chest, slowly.</p><p>“Hey, Ren –“</p><p>Before Jeno can finish, Renjun tips back, and falls.</p><p>Luckily, Jeno reacts fast, catching Renjun in his arms <em>and</em> stopping the ladder with his foot before it can topple over.</p><p>“What the hell?! Why did you just –“</p><p>Jeno stops himself, Renjun slowly turning to him. He looks like he’s seen a ghost, and where the thought should irritate Jeno, Renjun’s lost eyes only unsettle him.</p><p>For a short while, Renjun stays leaning against Jeno’s chest, blinking slowly as he vacantly stares past Jeno’s face. He has the shiniest eyes Jeno’s ever seen, and the realization sends blood rushing to his cheeks.</p><p>Then suddenly, Renjun’s expression clears. He takes one look at Jeno, scowls, and shoves himself off.</p><p>“…You’re welcome?” Jeno says, unimpressed but not surprised by Renjun’s lack of manners.</p><p>The latter begins to mutely fold the ladder back up. Back turned to Jeno, he rubs his chest, then picks up the ladder. Jeno grabs his arm and stops him.</p><p>“Hey, are you okay?” Somehow, this quiet Renjun isn’t normal as before. And suspect or not, Jeno can’t have someone get hurt in front of him.</p><p>However, Renjun merely gives him an impatient look, nudges Jeno’s arm off, and tucks the ladder under his arm. He walks away.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>[10:00. THURSDAY.]</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Jeno’s starting to get on his nerves, and though Renjun is trying to not let it show, his patience is wearing thin.</p><p>It’s the way he’s hovering over Renjun’s shoulder, hawk-eyed, and scribbling into his notepad whenever Renjun so much as breathes wrong. He doesn’t even have to ask – he knows Jeno thinks of him as a prime suspect. Self-aware of the obscurity of his occupation, Renjun doesn’t blame people for being sceptical, but he won’t stand having his integrity questioned.</p><p>If Jeno’s so wary of him and his job, all he needs to do is a quick google search and their website will pop-up listing all their information. <em>HRJ Paranormal Investigation.</em></p><p>Granted, the website is rather bland and has nothing except a description of what they do, their contact details, and some reviews. It looks like it was made on <em>Powerpoint</em> by a teenager who’d just figured out how to use hyperlinks – which isn’t that far from the truth since Jisung made it when he was in high-school. They haven’t bothered to fix the graphics or lack thereof, and the young boy was better at tinkering physical tech than digital.</p><p>Besides the point, the website exists, and their services are popular enough to have gained them five-star ratings from the nine people who bothered to leave any. There’s got to be some credibility in that.</p><p>The more Renjun thinks about it, the more upset he becomes as Jeno simply continues strictly monitoring his every action, chipping away at his pride.</p><p>With Jeno’s presence weighing heavy on his shoulders, getting through the first floor takes forever. The last room is the sunroom, which by far is Renjun’s favourite room in this beautiful house.</p><p>Spirits aside, the house is on another level of magnificence today. Donghyuck had opened up all the windows to air out the rooms and let the sunlight in – a common action amongst most of Renjun’s clients, who believe it’ll somehow help the harmony of the home. Renjun doesn’t mind though. The weather today is beautiful.</p><p>He momentarily pauses in front of the wide window of the sunroom to soak in the view. He hasn’t, and probably won’t get a chance to explore the backyard, but the scape is beautiful.  Green grass, shady trees, and the sunlight streaking through the leaves curing them into a vivid tangerine. The wind blows, the leaves rustle, then float down to the lawn like specks of a flame.</p><p>Renjun sighs, “What a beautiful day.”</p><p>It’s routine after that. Renjun unfolds the ladders and props it up in front of the bookshelf at the corner of the room. It’s a tight spot, and he’ll have to stretch a little to get the camera attached to the ceiling, but’s it’s the perfect place to get a holistic view of everyone and everything coming into the room and out.</p><p>Unfortunately, the ladder isn’t sturdy enough to balance his weight if he sways to one side. He’ll need someone to hold the ladder in place, which is even more unfortunate because Jeno’s the only <em>someone</em> within a close radius.</p><p>The man in question is currently crouched on the floor, rubbing Bingsu’s tummy as the poodle wiggles around on his back. There’s a smile on Jeno’s face, small and sweet. It’s kind of cute.</p><p>Renjun mentally kicks himself to focus on the task at hand.</p><p>“Hey. Since you’re here, be useful. Hold the ladder for me.”</p><p>Jeno looks up and blinks at him, amazed. “What, no please?”</p><p>Renjun has half a mind to bite back that he didn’t think Jeno deserved one, with all his snooping and suspicion, but the better part of his mind reminds him to be the bigger man.</p><p>Rather kindly, Jeno holds the ladder for him anyway, so Renjun carefully climbs to the very top. He stretches out his body until his free hand is flat against the wall, and with the other he fits the camera into the small crevice, pressing down the adhesive.</p><p>A sudden draft floats into the room, Renjun guesses, through the open window. It’s not strong, but it’s chilly enough to send cold spikes down Renjun’s spine. He doesn’t think much of it, slapping down the adhesive once more for good measure before moving to climb down.</p><p>Then the cold spreads, from his spine to around his waist. It coils around him and inside his, snaking up to his heart.</p><p>Renjun stills completely. This is no ordinary chill. For the first time since he stepped into the house yesterday, he could feel them. He could feel a presence within this very room, and it’s staring right at him.</p><p>He places both palms on the wall to steady himself and looks straight ahead. He breathes out and closes his eyes.</p><p>The physical world fades, darkness sweeps his mind. He hears a faint whispering at first, then hushed voices from all around. They sound so far away, yet with every passing second, speed towards him with unyielding velocity. The voices get sharper, at a higher frequency, until they’re nothing but a sharp ringing in his ears like a needle being pierced straight through his brain.</p><p>There comes a voice raging through. <em>“Go away!”</em>  It says, slick with malice.</p><p>Then Renjun feels the heft of an ice-cold hand press up against his chest, and push him back.</p><p>When he comes to, the cold slowly leaving his body and the fog steadily clearing from his mind, he finds himself in Jeno’s arms.</p><p>Instantly, Renjun shoves Jeno away. Heat quickly replacing the blazing cold from before, Renjun can feel his cheeks flare-up. He can’t believe himself. How embarrassing to be saved and then <em>held</em> by the very man who’s practically waiting to put him behind bars – or less dramatically, shut down his business.</p><p>“…You’re welcome?” Jeno says behind him.</p><p>Renjun isn’t paying him any more attention. He’s already given him too much, and his chest is starting to hurt from where he was pushed. There’s no way a simple spirit could’ve pushed him so hard. And the <em>voice</em>, so vicious and wretched. As if it was giving him a last chance to leave, or it could’ve finished him on the spot.</p><p>The pain blooms into a dull throbbing. Rubbing the sore area, he looks up at the camera. It stares back.</p><p>Swallowing, he tears his eyes away and starts to pack up the ladder. Jeno stops him with a hand on his arm.</p><p>“Hey, are you okay?” Jeno asks, his face soft with concern.</p><p>But Renjun can’t find the strength to give him an answer. Wordlessly, he shakes Jeno’s arm off, picks up the ladder, and walks past him.</p><p>There’s still the second floor left to be done. Renjun considers asking Jisung and Chenle to do it, but after the encounter he just had, he knew he couldn’t risk it. He’s the only one who can combat a spirit after all.</p><p>So, despite his aching chest, he quickly works through the first floor. Just in case, he waits for Jeno to catch up before he ascends the stairs. The steepness that he hadn’t noticed before now came crashing down on him.</p><p>If Jeno’s noticed something’s different about Renjun, he doesn’t point it out, and as they fit the cameras around the second floor, he doesn’t survey Renjun either. The notepad remains tucked away in his breast pocket.</p><p>The second last room is another guest bedroom. Renjun curses the size of the house as they enter the room, stopping when he realizes that this was the room in which Donghyuck saw <em>the woman</em>.</p><p>Jeno gives him another worried look, which Renjun deflects with a deep breath as he marches forward. Though, taking caution, he first closes the window until it’s locked shut.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, the last of the camera setup goes smoothly. Renjun didn’t expect to encounter another spirit so soon, and especially not before he’s actively tried to drive them out. If things go to plan, the real showdown will be tonight.</p><p>They head back to base. Chenle and Jisung are draped on the couch and chair respectively. Renjun calls Donghyuck out to show him the setup.</p><p>“We checked the junction box for anything wrong with the wiring.” Chenle says, “it’s all clear.”</p><p>“We checked the inside of the house too, tested out the appliances and plugged in the Fuse-Finder.” Jisung points to a white device plugged directly into the wall. “All green lights. Everything’s in working order.”</p><p>Renjun bites his lip and nods. The information doesn’t add anything, since his suspicions were already confirmed on day one. No faulty wiring is at play here. This house is being haunted by a <em>strong</em> spirit.</p><p>The pain in his chest stabs harder.</p><p>“What do the wires have to do with anything?” Donghyuck asks.</p><p>“Faulty wiring can sometimes disturb the level of the electromagnetic field in the house,” Chenle explains. “And while faulty wiring can be responsible for physical disruption, like flickering lights, radios turning on and off, a high EMF level can cause hallucinations or deformations in one’s physical condition.”</p><p>Despite Donghyuck’s increasing bewilderment, Chenle finishes with a breezy smile and a click of his tongue. Jisung rolls his eyes, mouthing <em>smart-ass</em> under his breath.</p><p>“Right.” Renjun cuts in, “the cameras are up. You can switch on the monitors now.”</p><p>“Roger that.” Jisung salutes and presses the power button on the CPU.</p><p>One by one, the monitor screens blink to life until they’ve got full surveillance of the entire house.</p><p>“Perfect,” Renjun says approvingly. He rubs his chest again. “Excuse me for a moment, I need the restroom.”</p><p>Pushing past Jeno, who Renjun forgot was even there, he dips into the closest bathroom. Quickly, he yanks down his tie and unbuttons his shirt. The pain in his chest pulsing, he stands before the mirror and stares at his chest.</p><p>At the center is a stark red imprint of a hand.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading!! Pls do leave kudos and comments, or come chat with me on twt or cc!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, this entire chapter was just the preface for markhyuck. Starting from the next chapter, we will definitely be moving onto noren! I hope your ready!<br/>Thank you so much for reading! Please do leave kudos and comments as I highly appreciate them!</p><p>Talk to me on twt: <a href="https://twitter.com/xinqrens">xinqrens</a><br/>Or: <a href="https://curiouscat.me/angelcakkes">cc</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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